The Price of Vengeance
by Castalia Moirae
Summary: A novelization of the events surrounding Carth's revenge. He will shed Sith blood, but at what cost? Carth x Revan LSF
1. Capture

The sun was setting over Dreshdae

The sun was setting over Dreshdae. The dying rays that blazed in the sky were mirrored by the dull red rocks below. A faint breeze blew through the canyon, ruffling the hair of the woman who stood above it, on the iron bridge.

Rhian Machana stared out to the horizon, and sighed. Despite the evil that lay trapped within this planet, the sunsets reminded her of home. Deralia. A tiny farming planet on the edge of the Outer Rim. How long had it been since she'd left? Two years? Five? Ten? She couldn't remember. She couldn't remember lots of things lately. Sometimes her own name felt unfamiliar. It disturbed her a little. And there was something on this planet, somewhere, that gave her the same feeling.

A footstep came from behind her. Her hand twitched reflexively toward her lightsaber, but her instinct was immediately quashed. She knew who it was without turning around.

"Hello, Carth," she said pleasantly, and turned to smile at him. What met her eyes was just what she'd expected: the 38 year old fighter pilot stood at the edge of the bridge a few feet away, clearly in the act of trying to approach unnoticed. He let out a sigh of disappointment.

"Ah, foiled again," he shook his head in mock despair. Rhian's smile grew wider, and Carth grinned back. He came and stood next to her as she turned back to the fiery horizon. "It's beautiful out there," he said softly.

Rhian nodded. "Just goes to show, there's beauty in everything. Even Sith planets." Carth made no response, and she did not continue. The sun dipped ever lower as they watched. Rhian savoured the scene. It had been a long time since she'd thought of home, even indirectly. Maybe she should go back, she thought. Once this was all over. If she was still alive. She lowered her eyes to the railing. Carth was still standing beside her, his hand next to hers. Where would he go? She thought suddenly. After he'd helped bring peace to the galaxy, would be return to his home planet, too? Or would he stop with Saul's destruction, with his own revenge? She snuck a peek at his profile, so set and determined. Revenge was his life. What would he do once his revenge was complete?

"Carth," Rhian began. Carth started, jerked out of his own private reverie. He looked down at her.

"Yes?" Seeing her troubled face, he asked, "What's on your mind?"

"What will you do after you get your revenge?"

Carth blinked. "You mean, after I kill Saul?"

"Yes. What happens then?"

"Hmm," Carth frowned. "Well, I'm not really sure. I guess I always just assumed I'd be dead when he was."

Rhian started. "Dead?! Just what kind of risks do you plan on taking?"

"What? Oh, no! No," Carth said hastily. "I'm not — I mean, I … whenever I imagined it in the past, I expected to be the captain of my own ship, or alone. But things are different now."

"Just … just as long as you don't … endanger the mission," Rhian said hesitantly.

"No, of course not!" Carth cried. "I would never do anything to hurt you … or any of the others."

"Well, I should certainly hope not," Rhian said indignantly.

"But I can't get over what he's done. He turned my son to the Sith. He stole my wife away from me. I …" Carth trailed off and looked away. Rhian looked at him worriedly.

"Carth…?" she said inquiringly. "Carth … hey, what's wrong?" The man seemed lost in memory. Tentatively she reached out and touched his arm. Slowly, his eyes focused on her. "Carth?" she said again. "You seem like you're far away."

"Huh? Oh, sorry," Carth sighed. "It's just … I've … I can barely remember Morgana's face. I feel like I'm losing her. I can remember other things about her, the way she laughed, the way her hair smelled … our last fight." He chuckled bitterly. "But not her face." He looked at Rhian. "I guess I must seem obsessed, to be so fixated on this. Maybe I shouldn't be talking about this with you."

Rhian shook her head. "No, it's alright." She studied Carth's face for a moment. "But I doubt your wife would want you to do this to yourself."

Carth tried to smile. "Maybe not." His mouth twisted. "But I can't forget what happened. That's why I need to do this."

"Killing Saul won't bring your wife back, Carth."

"I know. I know that. But if I want to have any kind of life after this, then I have to end it. That's why…" he took a deep breath. "That's why, if we ever meet him, if we ever find his ship, you have to promise me that I'll be the one to kill him."

Rhian was speechless. Carth took her by the shoulders and stared into her eyes. "Please," he whispered. She sighed.

"If we ever get the chance…" she looked up at him. "Then I promise."

o-o-o-o

All was quiet as the Ebon Hawk sailed through hyperspace. Carth dozed in the captain's chair while Bastila kept an eye on the navigational systems. Zaalbar looked on as Rhian, Mission and Jolee tried to teach Juhani some of the finer points of Pazaak. Canderous and HK-47 were deep in discussion over the advantaged of Mandalorian and Aratech blasters. T3-M4 trundled from room to room, tweaking any minor problems he found. Canderous was making a point about hair triggers and Juhani had just lost her seventh Senate Rules game in a row when the Ebon Hawk was wrenched from hyperspace with a great shuddering jolt. Carth sprung up, instantly awake. After a quick check of the displays, he swore violently.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Bastila asked, an edge of panic in her voice.

"We're caught in some kind of energy field. A ship's tractor beam. It's pulling us in."

Sure enough, a Sith warship came into view outside the main viewport. Bastila stared at it and frowned.

"Do you recognize the ship?" she asked, turning to Carth. She gasped inwardly. His face was deathly pale, his features a rigid mask of hate.

"It's the Leviathan," he said tightly. "Saul Karath's flagship. My old mentor."

Bastila looked back at the ship. A sense of fear and danger welled up inside her.

Rhian skidded into cockpit at that exact moment, a Pazaak card still in her hand. "What is it?" she panted. "Is it bad?" She glanced over where Bastila and Carth were looking. "Oh. That's bad." Her appraisal was met with silence. She frowned, and took a closer look at the approaching ship. "Wait … that's not…" Her insides clenched in dread. "That's the … isn't it?"

"Yes," Carth replied. His voice was hollow. "It's time."

The crew gathered in the main hold. A sense of impending doom hung over them. Carth stepped forward.

"Everyone," he began. "The ship we're being pulled towards is the Leviathan, the flagship of Admiral Karath, my old mentor. He was the one who bombed my homeworld. During the attack, my wife was killed and my son went missing. I'll never forgive him for what he's done."

"Carth, remember, there's more at stake here than revenge," Rhian said.

"I know that," Carth replied impatiently. "But if we find him, you'd better not get in my way."

"However," Bastila said loudly. "If we're to have any kind of escape plan, we'd best come up with one quickly. The Sith will be boarding any moment. I think our best chance lies with one of us getting separated, then breaking out and freeing the rest."

"But they'll be watching the three of us very closely," Rhian said, eyeing first Bastila, then Carth. "One of the others will have to do it."

"Could I?" Mission asked. Everyone turned to stare at her. She seemed to take this as encouragement. "I could goad one of the guards into making a mistake, then use my stealth ability to sneak back to you guys."

"You know, kid, if you provoke the guard too much he may just decide to kill you instead," Canderous pointed out.

"I don't like this plan," Zaalbar said quickly. Mission turned to him.

"It's our only chance," the Twi'lek cried, almost pleading. "I can do this. I know it. I'll be careful. And anyway, there ain't no security cell that can hold me, you know that!"

"Well, decide quickly," Bastila urged. "They'll be here at any second."

"I say we do it," Rhian said firmly. "We'll be counting on you, Mission." She smiled.

Mission smiled back. "Don't worry," she said. "It'll be fine."

o-o-o-o

Rhian was barely aware of what happened next. Mission ran off to the cargo hold just as the Sith forced the airlock. They went for Rhian, Carth and Bastila first. She could hear Juhani hissing in anger as they went for her next. Then she was shoved down the docking ramp and through a series of white, soulless corridors to an elevator, and from there to a room lit in red. There she was stripped and thrown into a force cage. Her eyes closed against the pain as the force field activated against her skin. She could sense Bastila being thrown into the cage next to her, and Carth into the next one along. There they stayed for a moment, trying to get their bearings. Then the door opened.

And in walked Admiral Karath.

Rhian could almost feel Carth straining against his bonds to get at the man. Saul, in comparison, seemed fairly composed.

"Ah, Carth," he greeted the younger man with a sardonic smile. "The last few months have not been kind to you, I see. I barely recognized you."

"But I recognize you, Saul," Carth rasped. "I see your face every night in my dreams. You will pay for what you did to Telos."

"Telos was necessary," Saul replied calmly.

"Necessary? You killed millions of innocent people — civilians!"

"Casualties always occur in wars. It was necessary that I prove my loyalty towards Darth Malak by bombing my homeworld. I could not have been accepted otherwise."

"My wife died in that attack, Saul, and for that I swear I'll kill you."

"I highly doubt that. You are an irrelevant part of these proceedings, anyway. I am much more interested in your Jedi friend here."

"We will never betray the Republic!" Carth shouted. Saul tsked.

"You always were stubborn. However, your friend's loyalties have proven in the past to be more … flexible than your own." He smiled nastily at Rhian, who blinked.

"What are you talking about? My loyalty is as true as Carth's!"

Saul laughed. "But … don't you see … oh, it can't be. Not after all this time. Don't tell me you still don't know?"

"Know what?" Rhian asked. Saul kept laughing. Eventually he got back under control.

"Well, no matter." He waved his hand. "I'm sure you'll find out soon enough, and I'll not be the one to deprive Lord Malak the pleasure of telling you himself. He will, of course, be joining us, but as he is currently in another sector, it falls to me to get what information I can before he arrives."

"Forget it!" Rhian spat. "We'll never betray the Republic! You won't get anything out of me!"

"We shall see," Saul replied evenly. "I can see that torturing you would be pointless; your constitution is far too strong for that. But even the strongest of heroes has trouble watching someone they care for suffering."

Rhian lurched. "No…" she whispered. A sadistic smile formed on Admiral Karath's lips.

"Every time you refuse to answer or answer incorrectly, Carth will suffer." Saul nodded to the man behind the torture field console. He pulled a lever … and bolts of lightning ripped into Carth's body.

"AAUUUGH!" His scream was terrible. Rhian felt it. It tore into her, clawing at her heart. Her scream echoes his.

"Don't hurt him, please! I beg of you!"

The lightning creased. Above the crackling of ozone, she could hear Carth rasp, "My pain is meaningless. Tell him nothing." Saul's mouth twisted and a single bolt ripped into Carth, silencing him. The Admiral turned to Rhian.

"So. You've had your taste of punishment. Now tell me. On which planet is the Jedi facility on which you were trained?"

"I…" Rhian faltered, and appeared to crack. "Alderaan. It's on Alderaan."

"Alderaan?" Karath gave a short bark of laughter. "That planet is filled with nothing but artisans and courtiers. There is no Academy there. You must think me a fool." He stepped closer. "It is on Dantooine," he said. The cage was activated again.

"AAHHH! NO! NOO!!" Carth's screams reverberated in the enclosed room. They echoed in Rhian's ears even after they had died away. Saul was still speaking.

"…Obviously Lord Malak knew the Academy was on Dantooine. It has already been destroyed by our orbital fleet. All that remains is a ghost-strewn ruin and the charred remains of your Jedi Masters." He paused to let that knowledge sink in. "Now, for your next question. What was the mission the Jedi Council set you on?"

Rhian glared at Saul, hatred written plainly on her face. "I would never betray the Jedi," she hissed, weighing her words.

"Your precious Jedi are dead. You owe them less than nothing. You need not protect them any longer."

Rhian inhaled deeply. "So would I have then, so shall I now."

"So be it," Saul said wickedly. He nodded to the console man.

Lightning flashed, so much so that the force cage itself seemed to collapse into its victim. Carth screamed, higher and louder than before.

"AAAAHHH!" The pain, the pain! Please … stop … NO!" Rhian's screams matched his. She tried to reach out with the Force, to heal him, but her mind was seared by flashes of white-hot pain. She jolted against the back of her cage. Tears gathered in her eyes.

"Listen," Saul said quietly. "Can you not hear him suffering?" He leaned closer. "You can end it, you know. Just tell me the truth. On what mission did the Jedi Council send you?"

Rhian opened her mouth to answer, but instead only sobbed. Tears ran down her cheeks as fresh waves of pain — Carth's pain — flooded into her. She could tell him everything, she realized. Tell him and end Carth's pain. Her pain. She looked over at the force cage. Carth knelt in it, one hand jammed into a groove at the back, in the act of pulling himself up. He was slowly dying, she knew. She was most likely killing him. She could tell Saul about the Star Forge and let him live.

But if she betrayed him, she would kill him anyway.

"You are a sick and evil man, Saul Karath," she whispered finally. Saul's face twisted in fury. Lightning tore through the cage again.

"AAUUGHH! NO!! Please, have mercy — AAHH!!"

"NO!" Rhian screamed. She slammed her fist against the force field. Numbness shot up her arm.

"Well, I can see this is getting us nowhere," Saul observed. "We shall have to wait until Lord Malak arrives. No doubt he will want to torture you for information and for his own twisted pleasure. Then you will see why my methods are considered to be merciful among the Sith." He motioned to the man behind the console. "Activate the torture fields," he ordered.

The last thing Rhian saw was white, then darkness.

o-o-o-o

Bastila woke first. Propping herself up against the back of the cage, she took stock of her condition. Not as bad as it could have been, considering her recent torture at the hands of a Sith Admiral. Clearing her mind as best she could, she began the next step: taking stock of her allies' conditions.

Carth still had some residual energy and numbness, but nothing that couldn't be fixed. Slowly, carefully, Bastila reached out with the Force, siphoning the energy and easing the numbing. He began to stir even as she was coming out of her trance.

"Unh…" Carth groaned. He lay sprawled across the bottom of his cage. After a moment or two he pulled himself into sitting position. He looked around blearily.

"Bastila…? Where…?" His gaze stopped at Rhian's force cage. The woman was still unconscious. Her hands were red and swollen, her hair was matted, and a trickle of blood ran down her chin. Carth staggered upright. "Rhian!" he cried.

"Carth! Calm down. She's alright." Bastila looked up at him from her position on the floor. "Saul continued to torture her even after she passed out, but she's alive. I can feel it." As Carth sat back down, Bastila took a deep breath and reached for the bond between her and Rhian. The best thing for her now was to be conscious.

_Rhian?_ She asked tentatively. At first there was no response. Then a tiny flicker sparked at the back of the older women's consciousness. _Rhian_, Bastila continued. _Wake up. We need you. Come on, I can only heal you so much without your cooperation_.

…_Carth_… came a weak voice. Bastila sighed with relief.

_He's alright. He's alive._

_I love him._

Bastila froze. _What?_

_I_…_I_…_AH!_

Rhian woke suddenly, her eyes darting about wildly before they could even see.

"Whoa, hey, calm down, it's alright," Carth said soothingly. Rhian relaxed, and after a moment her eyes focused on Bastila.

"Don't try to move too much," Bastila said kindly. "You may not be fully recovered yet."

"Saul tortured all of us, but you got the worst of it by far," Carth said.

"He had his guards continue torturing you even after you'd passed out," Bastila added.

"He's so different from the man I once knew," Carth murmured. "He's become some kind of sadistic monster."

"It is the lure of the Dark Side in him," Bastila said sadly. "Once you start down the dark path you can never return. I fear he is forever lost."

Rhian looked at Bastila while trying to wipe the blood off her chin. "No one is beyond redemption, Bastila," she said quietly, and gave a lopsided smile. Bastila nodded.

"Yes, I suppose you are right. It is fortunate that you were able to resist the Admiral's questioning. Revealing even the slightest piece of vital information could change galactic history." Rhian nodded and looked at Carth. Carth hesitated, then cleared his throat.

"I, uh … I have to admit, there was a second — just a second — when a part of me hoped you would give him what he wanted, just to make the horrible pain stop."

Rhian bit her lip and tasted blood. "I'm sorry, Carth," she said quietly. "Watching you suffer … it tore me apart."

"No, it's alright," Carth said. "I know you would never do anything to intentionally cause me pain. Actually," he went on. "I thought you had a great deal of courage. I don't know if I would have been strong enough to withstand him. Watching you suffer like that … I … I might have cracked."

Bastila watched Rhian as she heard this. She tried to hide it, but Bastila already knew the truth. It was there in her smile, in her forgiveness. She turned to look at Carth, scarred and bruised by his mentor and his friend, smiling back, and she saw it there, too. And though she knew Rhian would never hear, she answered her last proclamation.

_As he loves you._


	2. Paradise Lost

_Pain_. That was all that filled Carth Onasi's head. There was nothing but the white haze of pain. He dimly heard someone screaming. But was it him … or was it her…? The pain died down, then flared again, even stronger than before. Darkness claimed him just as he heard one final, echoing scream.

o-o-o-o

… It was a beautiful day on Telos. The sun was rising, making the sea below it shimmer with colour. Long blue grass rustled as a light wind blew across the shore. In the distance stood a colony the size of a small city. Each dwelling was slightly different. Some were painted bright colours; others had small, well-tended gardens; some were several floors tall, with flags flying. Holonet receivers were scattered across the roofs. The dwellings wound their way up streets and down alleys, finally converging at a large plaza. Elsewhere lay the Governance Quarter, the Market Quarter, and the Docking Quarter. Thousands of people bustled through the city, calling to each other, laughing, conducting early morning business. Several landspeeders piled high with equipment made their way past the Resident's Quarter to the ocean road. A tiny, dark-haired boy toddled out of a house as they passed. He grabbed at the _vyia_ vines clinging to the dwelling's outside wall to steady himself, then ran after the fisherman and their speeders. The man driving the rearmost speeder noticed him and smiled. The boy had followed them halfway to the beach by the time someone caught up with him. A blonde woman in a white dress came running down the road behind him. The little boy turned and cried happily, "Mama! Come look! They're going to catch fishies!" The woman laughed and picked him up.

"Now, Dustil, why did you chase them all the way here?" She asked gently as she began to make for home.

"Because I wanted to help them catch the fishies," Dustil replied, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"You want to go fishing?" The woman asked. Dustil nodded seriously. "Well, let's talk to your father. Maybe he'd like to catch some too."

"What would I like to catch?" A young man asked loudly from down the road. He waved to the mother and child and hurried towards them.

"Daddy!" Dustil cried, squirming in his mother's arms. She let him down. He toddled toward the man, his arms held out. The man laughed and scooped him up, swinging him around.

"Hey there, Dust," Carth smiled. _I look different_, came the detached thought. _Less worried. More human_. "You gave us quite a scare, little man. Why'd you run off so fast? Who were you chasing?"

"The fishie men!" Dustil replied. Carth laughed again.

"The fishermen? Do you want to go fishing?"

"Yes please! I want to catch some fishies, but only big ones, because little ones are baby fishies, smaller than me, and they should go back to their mummies." Carth laughed harder, then adopted a look of grave seriousness.

"Then it would appear we have a new mission, soldier." He turned to the woman. "What do you think, Morgana? Should we take a fishing trip?" The blonde woman smiled.

"I think the world can do without us for one day," she replied. Love shone in her eyes. _My wife_, he thought. Even now he still felt a rush of pride and compassion when he thought of it. _Our love shall bloom forever, til death should carry us on. The wedding vow…_

Suddenly the scene dissolved. A new one took its place. It was the same city, Carth knew, but it was completely unrecognizable. He stumbled from his craft as soon as it landed, tearing across the Docking Quarter, ignoring the shouts of his men, of the medics, of the wounded who lay dying. He turned toward the sea, and caught sight of a stray _vyia_ vine clinging to a piece of rubble. He stopped dead and looked around. There were the Pachinkas, his neighbours, their fine red house reduced to a smoking crater of fine crimson powder. He turned back to the _vyia_ vine and looked beyond it. There, half-hidden in the clouds of smoke and ash, stood the remains of his home.

"Morgana!" He cried desperately. "Dustil! Morgana, where are you?" He lurched into the wreckage, clearing it away as fast as he could, throwing it in random directions. "Dustil! Morgana! Anyone!" The haze cleared slightly, and a glint caught his eye. Stumbling over, he realized it was the stone on Morgana's ring. He squinted. There was a finger attached, coated in dust. "Morgana!!" He grabbed at the rubble and hauled it away, revealing an arm, a torso, legs, a head. _It's the same dress, _he noticed dimly. It was now greyish-brown, stained with ash and blood. Carth knelt down and cradled his wife's head. "Morgana," he said hoarsely. "Morgana, wake up. It's me. It's Carth." The blonde woman stirred.

"Carth…?" Her eyes fluttered open. "Carth! It is…it can't be…why…"

"Hush, darling. You'll be alright. I promise. With all my heart."

"And…mine?" Morgana whispered. She winced. Carth looked down. A shard of metal had torn a hole in her dress and pierced her heart. He gave a strangled sob.

"No…that can't…" He looked up, through the dust and gloom. "Medic!" He screamed. "Someone get a medic here! Now!"

"Carth," Morgana raised her arm to touch his face. He turned to her, his eyes desperate and pleading. "Dustil…he wasn't…you…"

"Don't worry," Carth said quickly. "I'll find him. He'll be alright, you'll see. Everyone'll be okay. We'll get through this. I'm here now."

"And when it's over … we'll go fishing?" Morgana smiled faintly. Carth chuckled.

"Anything you want, sweetheart. Anything."

"The war … took a long time … to end…" She trailed off, her eyes closing. Carth held her tighter.

"No, no, no, Morgana, stay with me. Medic! MEDIC!! No, Morgana, stay here, stay with me. You'll live through this. You've got to stay. Don't leave … don't leave without me…" Morgana opened her eyes, still smiling benignly.

"Our love … shall bloom … til death … should carry us on…" A tear rolled down her cheek, leaving a trail in the dust.

"Morgana…" Carth choked as her body went limp in his arms. "No … you can't … not yet…" He held her to him, burying his face in her hair. A cry of pain tore through him.

"MORGANA!!"

The world collapsed around him, the buildings falling away into darkness. Carth was left kneeling, completely alone, clutching at empty air. His body was wracked with sobs of grief and guilt. _I trusted a man with my life, and in return he ripped it from me entirely. I loved her with all my heart. It died with her. I lost it when I lost my son. Is this all there is? Is this why we live? So that someone can steal our lives away?_ He looked down at his hands, still trembling and reaching for nothing._ Was it my fault? Does the blood of Telos stain my hands? Could I ever wash it clean? Perhaps … with the blood of a traitor… _His hands clenched into fists. _Blood begets blood … but I have nothing else to live for. Saul tore out my heart, so I will tear out his. That is how it must end._

_But why do I still feel so cold?_

A tiny glimmer of light pierced the darkness before his eyes. _Something's calling me back. Life still wants me. The galaxy hasn't finished with me yet._ Resigned, he stood and shuffled toward the beam of light. It grew at an alarming rate, until it almost blinded him. There was whiteness everywhere … whiteness and pain…

_Pain_. That was all that filled Carth Onasi's head. He jolted awake and looked around blearily. He was in a force cage, he noticed, and he was not alone. He recognized the Jedi in the cage next to his.

"Bastila…? Where…?" His gaze travelled further, to the next cage. The woman inside lay unconscious and bleeding. The image was eerily familiar. Suddenly his memory came flooding back to him. His heart lurched sickeningly. He staggered upright. "Rhian!"

"Carth!" Bastila said quickly. "Calm down. She's alright." Slowly Carth relaxed enough to sit back down. The younger woman turned to Rhian and slipped into some kind of trance. Carth left her to it, absorbed in his own thoughts. It had been a long time since he'd allowed himself to fully remember Morgana's death. It had been a long time since he had dreamed about her at all. He tried to remember her face, which a moment ago had been so clear, but it slipped away from him. Almost nothing of her remained.

A sudden movement caught his eye as Rhian flailed awake, wide-eyed and staring. He caught her gaze and held it. Life flickered back into her face as she woke up a little more. Something in her eyes pulled painfully at his heart. Such bewilderment and grief, agony clashing with compassion, old pains that rivalled his own … and a hint of something much deeper. Carth's breath caught in his throat. Those had been Morgana's eyes in his dream. But Morgana's eyes had never been blue.

It happened in the briefest of moments. Something stirred in him, something he thought he'd long since forgotten. For the first time in three years, he dared to hope. He dared to hope that there might be a life beyond Saul. And it would be a life inexplicably tied with hers. With Rhian's.


End file.
